I've been thinking about technology. Actually, not so much technology as the electronic revolution which is swirling around the entire earth and changing everything so quickly. We are all conducting our lives in the equivalent of the Chinese proverb,
"May you live in interesting times."
The last period in history when the times were this interesting was the Industrial Revolution which occurred in two phases over about 150 years. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (all on-line, no books anymore), the first phase changed the developed world's economies from agrarian to industrial. It all began in Britain about 1760 and continued until 1830. The second phase of the Industrial Revolution started in the United States in 1870 and continued until 1919 - the end of the first world war.
I could go on and on about the IR, of course, but in a capsule, it caused economic, social, cultural, and political upheaval. It disrupted the fabric of everyday life: How you made a living, where you lived, what you ate, what you wore, how you spent your leisure time. It caused 'terrorist activities' including the bombing of Wall Street, mass deportations of 'undesirable immigrants', a generation of displaced workers who didn't have competitive skills in the new industrial economy, and the creation of a new class of wealthy people. Government was ineffective and riddled with influence peddling.
Sound familiar?
Technology as represented by the Electronic Revolution has been slowly changing the economy of the developing world since the 1960's. However, it wasn't until Steve Jobs put a portable computer in the hands of virtually every person to whom he could sell one did the ER become a rocket. Since 2007 (first iphone), we've been on a metaphorical, mercurial, speed of sound ride, and the Electronic Revolution is just getting started.
One big happening is how suddenly the world has become connected and shrunk to something I can imagine because with a click of a button I can see it. I can email a person in China instantaneously. I can see all the fishing in the world. I can watch a major storm move across the globe. World technology is popping up everywhere. Yes, airplanes and satellites have been shrinking the world since the 1930's, but the difference is now I CAN ACCESS IT. Here's what I mean: I stumbled onto a global fishing map. Click on the link and start the Beta tutorial, and make it screen wide. It will blow you away:
Isn't this amazing?
A friend of mine sent me a video news story from the Wall Street Journal. The heart of the piece is the sewing machine, which changed the way clothing was produced during the industrial revolution and created the garment industry, is now being re-vamped by the Electronic Revolution. Take a look at this link, and extrapolate the effects this type of technology could have on other industries around the world. These are the 'new factories'.
These two links just fell into my lap. If I actually went out and did real research, what do you think I would find?
Our world is changing around us at lightening speed. Even Americans, who pride themselves on being able to handle change, are struggling to find their feet in a world which seems to be constantly shifting. The unease with the rate of change is playing out culturally: There's been a surge in apocalyptic entertainment (zombies, post nuclear world, vampires, etc.), We are openly expressing our rabid fear and loathing of 'the other' - whether 'the other' is generational, racial, cultural or religious. We are frustrated by political polarization and the feeling government isn't getting things done. Then, there's the marked upswing in violence. We are awash in morbid entertainment, festering hatred, ineffectual government, and gun violence.
The Electronic Revolution has established the increasingly swift adaptation of new cultural and social mores which are redefining our society. (Let me translate that last sentence: twitter, facebook, instagram, texting, etc., etc., etc.) These applications are changing our basic interactions with one another, forming public opinion, and documenting our individual lives at the cost of our personal privacy. And, we can't even image what's next.
Maintaining our social fabric and social equilibrium is becoming increasingly difficult. Many of us feel helpless, left behind, marginalized, and unsettled at some level we can't quite put our fingers on. Some days I long to wake up to life in 1975. Nostalgia for a past which we all view with a selective memory is also a symptom of too much change, too fast.
What REALLY comforts me is I'm sure the buggy whip makers, the livery stable operators, the dressmakers, and the hundreds of other occupations and jobs which were eliminated seemingly overnight by the Industrial Revolution must have felt the way I do some mornings. They made it through their interesting times, and so can I.
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